Lyons: Don't call me; I didn't call you. Really.

Dan Jeff has been talking with a lot of strangers of late. Some have been good-natured and polite and sympathetic.

Others, not so much.

Those strangers don't seem to believe it when he tells them that they, not he, initiated their conversation.

All of the strangers called him while apparently curious about why the heck someone named Dan Jeff had phoned them without leaving a message, Jeff tells me. They had all seen the Bradenton retiree's name and number on their caller ID record, and though most people who saw that probably ignored the missed calls and never made a return call to Jeff's number, about 30 people have called Jeff back over the past several days days.

That some were pretty grumpy about the inconvenience sort of amuses Jeff, it seems, because when given the chance, he nicely explains that the inconvenience is mostly his, and that he never called any of those people and had no desire to. They are the ones making his phone ring all the time.

He was baffled about that at first, he says, but now knows it involves what the Federal Communications Commission calls “phone spoofing.” It is a trick that, despite the name, isn't really a joke but rather part of a scam or, at the least, a ploy for getting away with illegal sales and solicitation calls.

Since caller ID can track sales people making illegal calls barred by the “Do Not Call” registry, some people making improper calls use a trick that shows a phony caller ID. Though many must use a phone number that is not in use, someone is using Jeff's number and name.

As a result, about 30 people have called him and asked him or his wife why they called. While most listen to Jeff's explanation and find it interesting and then apologize for bothering the Jeffs, others act as if they think Jeff is up to something sneaky or at least must be lying to cover up for bad dialing.

“I've had some fun conversations about it,” Jeff said.

He's getting tired of it, though. He is trying to avoid having to change his number. But the FCC offered no other obvious solution aside from hoping the calls stop soon.

The FCC says spoofing is used by identity thieves seeking “sensitive information such as your bank account or other financial account numbers, your social security number, your date of birth or your mother's maiden name” and may pretend to be calling from “your bank, credit card company, or even a government agency.”

But even if it is just some smarmy sales hustler faking an ID, the Truth in Caller ID Act prohibits ID spoofing if the aim is to profit or “defrauding or otherwise causing harm.”

The FCC invites complaints from anyone who suspects a caller ID has been falsified. You can file a complaint at 1-888-225-5322. Violators face a fine of up to $10,000 per violation.

At that rate, by Jeff's estimate, his name and number were used in calls worthy of a $300,000 fine.